Politics

You may have missed the news, but the Trump Administration is planning for the US will be in deficit until 2039. This is the most long-sighted claim made by the White House. Otherwise, the Trump vision for America and the world is incredibly short-sighted. (More…)

If Foucault appeared to show enthusiasm for the Iranian passion plays and rituals during the revolution, it is perhaps because in them he saw practices of truth and ethical subjectivation that represented a more radical rejection than the ousting of the Shah; the rejection by a people not only of foreigners but of everything that had constituted, for years, for centuries, its political destiny. (More…)

BEIRUT –Hundreds of civilians have been killed in attacks on so-called de-escalation zones in Syria in January, undermining a Russian-led agreement that world powers have touted as a step toward a comprehensive cease-fire in the country. (More…)

The 18th Century French scholar Fontenelle is credited with noting that, “from the sublime to the ridiculous is only one step, from raillery to insult there is even less”.One might be tempted to take this as a motto for the United States in the early 21st Century, were it not for the fact the instances of sublimity are in very short supply. (More…)

We live at a time of uprisings. Whether it is against autocratic regimes outside of Europe, or against the asset strippers of the IMF and World Bank within it, people around the globe are banding together in a collective drive towards revolt. At the same time, the hopes of millions in the Middle East for an end to tyranny are under threat. (More…)

BEIRUT – Turkey’s latest offensive on a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria has pitted two US allies against each other and raised the risk of a confrontation between Ankara and Washington – a move that “is great for Russia”, Jonas Parello-Plesner, senior policy fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Syria Deeply. (More…)

The left has nothing to fear from Jordan Peterson. Not even fear itself. He argues with his version of what the left stands for and talks past what the radical left really advocates. Peterson believes he is fighting against the postmodern neo-Marxists, but they don’t exist. This is just plain weird. (More…)

While Russia sought to hold on to its sphere of influence by creating the Eurasian Economic Union, the more dynamic and highly developed European bloc had long been on an expansionary trajectory. Expanding, after all, is what capital does. (More…)

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s new military operation on a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria aims to carve out a “secure zone” 30km (18.6 miles) deep into Afrin, to secure its southern border from what it claims is a terror threat. (More…)

It came out last week that Mr. Trump had, via a lawyer, paid something like $130,000 in hush money to a porn star with whom he had had an assignation. Worse yet said the pearl-clutching pundits of the major media outlets, the incident in question had occurred only four months after his wife had given birth to their child. (More…)

I write to confess that I love you.Although you are sitting in Ofer military prison and might not be too happy, I want to persuade you that I am your own true love.Prison may give you time to think about where your affections can best be directed.You will come to love me too. (More…)